The Injured (Dark Souls Short Story 10)
by MrsLittletall
Summary: The battles with the chosen undead don't always leaves the hellish duo unscathed.


Ornstein awoke in his bed, confused. When exactly had he got to sleep? He couldn't remember. He also couldn't remember that he had put his night shirt on or untied his ponytail. And why wasn't Smough laying next to him? He tried to recall the last thing that he remembered. And that was... passing out. Oh, that explained why he didn't remember having gone to bed. The rest of the memories now came back too.

Another Undead had made it to them and they had to put up a fight against them. This one hadn't been bad and managed to keep them on their toes. At the end, they had managed to get a good hit at Ornstein which had hurt quite a bit, but he had managed to take the undead out after that when their guard was down. He must have been passed out shortly after that, mainly of the exhaustion and the shock. Ornstein guessed that the Undead had hollowed out afterwards, because Smough had brought him into bed instead of waking him up and giving him a divine blessing to continue the fight. Or had Smough chosen to pick up the fight on his own? That thought legitimately scared Ornstein. He noticed that it was already dark outside. That could mean two things, either that everything was fine and Gwyndolin had gone to sleep or that the Undead had made it and decided to attack the illusion of Princess Gwyverene. Gwyndolin would see this as an act of blasphemy and would drop all illusions at once would this happen. With a bad feeling in his chest, Ornstein sat himself up and regretted the sudden motion cause that send some pain through his left shoulder.

Right, that was where he had been hit. The wound didn't feel that bad. It probably was one of these wounds which refused to stop bleeding until tended to. He didn't think it would scar. His left shoulder was already pretty badly burn scarred by dragon fire anyway. Smough had bandaged the wound, Ornstein could feel it under his night shirt. It would make his movement stiff for a few days, but would probably also heal in this time.

Now that Ornstein had checked his injury out, he realized that Smough was sitting next to the bed, asleep with his head on it. Oh, that was such a relief, the undead had indeed hollowed out then. Had Smough kept watch over him until he felt asleep from the exhaustion himself? That was so sweet. Ornstein crawled closer to his sleeping boyfriend and just watched him for a while. Normally he was snuggled up against Smough in the night and couldn't get a clear look at his face. He looked oddly peaceful while sleeping, even in that uncomfortable position. Ornstein leaned down to kiss his boyfriend, hoping that it would gently wake him. Smough hadn't joined him in bed, clearly because he was taking his injury in consideration. Now that Ornstein was awake, he didn't want to go back to sleep alone and also didn't want to get Smough sore in the morning. After a little while, the executioner opened his eyes.

"Oh, you are awake. How are you feeling?", he asked.

"That was what I wanted to ask you. This position really looked uncomfortable.", Ornstein answered, but then told Smough anyway: "It hurts a bit, but it isn't that bad. Thanks for patching me up, as always." A lot of the Undead seemed to try to take him out first which ended with him getting hurt more often. Ornstein wasn't too surprised with this. He was written into history books after all and everyone who read them would see the greater threat into him. And he had to admit, he was far more experienced and skilled in fighting than Smough, so that was a smart decision.

"That is good to hear.", Smough smiled at him. "You scared me when you suddenly fainted. Good thing that Undead didn't came back. I guess they were so frustrated at their failure that they went hollow."

"Probably.", Ornstein said. "Don't you want to come into bed with me? When you sleep like this all night you only will get sore. And I am not that good at giving massages like you." Ornstein made some more room on the bed so Smough could join him.

Smough didn't waste any time to come join him into the bed. Ornstein got ready for his usual snuggled up position against his boyfriend, but when the former laid his arms around him in the usual hug, he winced in pain. "Ow, that hurt.", he said. "Oh no, I am sorry.", Smough said. "Maybe we shouldn't sleep that close to each other today?" Ornstein didn't like that suggestion at all. He slept much better when he could snuggle against his boyfriend. This stupid injury wouldn't take this away.

"We just have to find a position in which it works.", he said, determined that he would get a good night's sleep tonight.

So, the usual position, lying on his right side, snuggled up against Smough while he hugged him, didn't work. Switching sides didn't work either, cause that put far too much pressure on the injury. Lying on the back also wasn't a good idea. And when he would lie on his stomach, he wouldn't be able to snuggle up to Smough at all. They tried a few other things too, but it was to no use. Ornstein sighed: "That is stupid. Why can't I find a comfortable position?"

"We just have to find a compromise.", Smough said. "Wouldn't it work when you can snuggle up against me but I am not hugging you?"

"But I would like to be hugged.", Ornstein grumbled.

Smough laid on his back and spread out his arm. "Why not try laying into the crook while snuggling up? That is almost a hug."

Ornstein considered that option: "That could work..."

A short while later they had taken in the new position and it really was comfortable enough for Ornstein to not be in pain. "This will work.", he mumbled, already falling asleep. "Good night, Smough. Love you."

"Love you too, kitten.", Smough said before they both fell into a deep slumper, ready to wake up refreshed the next morning.


End file.
